( 3 ) Page 3 Silent Death

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The Doctor who had been looking out of one of the many Portholes into space , turned and sat down he reached for some papers in the briefcase he had been carrying . ” Yes indeed it will be how ever I am a little concerned at these assistants you have allocated me, one is Portuguese, one Icelandic , one Lithuanian , and one American , we will have language problems or do they all speak English “. handing the papers to Aldridge with the names of the assistants on them for him to read ” No problem Doctor One of the requirements of the Station was that everyone on board should be able to speak English, this was recognized as the international language after French. As the majority of the station crew already spoke English, it was decided this be the recognized norm so everyone could communicate efficiently. ”

Doctor Lane rose from his chair ” I see that’s excellent then I see no problems I should like to see my Laboratory as soon as possible ” Aldridge smiled and took his arm ” Plenty of time for that but first I have arranged for your team to meet you in the recreation area, seems fitting as you are all about to spend so much time together ” Lane pulled away from Aldridge ” I think not Doctor I am not a social animal i’m afraid and prefer my own company to meditate my thoughts, and my social skills are none existent ” Aldridge had just opened the door to the office when he closed it ” Come now Doctor Lane we are going to be coupe’d up on this station for a great deal of our time in the next year , social interaction is inevitable ” Lane gave him a blank stare then said ” I think not sir I am what you may refer to as a loner ” Aldridge was now visibly angry and faced Lane directly ” I had heard you were a difficult man but thought I would give you the benefit of the doubt, now listen to me this station depends on everyone pulling together as a team. We have no loners and we don’t allow belligerence bigotry or plain rude antisocial behaviour , so get this straight now you will meet your team and you will do your best to be pleasant and respectful if this is beyond you Sir you can leave now while the Idaho is still here do I make myself clear ”

Lane sheepishly nodded agreement and was led to the recreation rooms to meet his new team, he thought to himself that he had only been here a short time and already was wishing he wasn’t . His experiments however needed the conditions in space to be realized , zero gravity was essential to next stages of his work and nothing was more important to him than his work It had already cost him dearly .

As they entered the room Lane could see Gareth glaring at him from across the room, four other men were standing with him looking at Lane with doubtful faces , was this the man they had all read so much about the brilliant Dr Lane man of the future Time magazine called him . Mack had already been speaking to the men telling them his version of the events surrounding his sisters death, so it was little surprise that they all looked at lane with distrust now. Doctor Aldridge started to introduce Lane to the team they shook hands and exchanged courtesies but Lane could feel their obvious emotions of what felt like anger towards him. When the meeting was over he was relieved to get to his quarters and relax, after a short time there was a knock on the door he rose from the bed and pressed the intercom button. ” Hello who is it ” a soft voice answered him back with an accent he was unfamiliar with ” I am Amber your liaison Doctor I was unable to attend the gathering in the recreation room as I had other duties ” feeling obliged to answer after the bawling out he had received from Aldridge he opened the door.

Amber was tall with red hair that seemed to glow from the reflection of the wall lights behind her, she had piercing blue eyes and was very pleasing to the eye . Lane was taken aback by her beauty in fact he thought of how she reminded him of someone but he couldn’t remember who that was , he invited her in as she passed him he got a scent of sweet lavender . ” Amber I have to get some sleep so please make this brief my day has been extremely tiresome and I am quite tired , it’s not that I don’t appreciate you taking the time to introduce yourself but you understand ” Amber cut him short in his sentence ” Yes of course I am so sorry doctor maybe we should resume this later, say in the recreation area tomorrow at 9 am before your team meeting ” Lane agreed they shook hands and she left .